Event set for Oct. 6 in Basking Ridge
By Eileen Oldfield Staff Writer
With autumn starting two weeks prior, Hillsborough residents will have an opportunity to enjoy fall weather, and walk for a cause at the Resource Center for Women and Their Families’ first “Purple Laces . . . Safer Places” pledge walk for victims of domestic violence on Oct. 6.
”It’s kind of exciting and we’re looking forward to it,” said Anthony Winchatz, the center’s assistant director. “We’re always looking for something new and creative to raise money for victim services.”
Check in for the event begins at 3 p.m. Oct. 6 at Pleasant Valley Park in Basking Ridge. Participants can register for the event or make pledges for participants through the resource center’s Web site, www.rcwtf.org, or through www.active.com/framed/event_detail.cfm?event_id=1467891, prior to the walk’s date. Participants can also register at the event, and bring any pledges they’ve collected to the event.
The walk begins around dusk, and participants will receive purple shoelaces as for participating in the walk, and a purple glow stick to light their path. Mr. Winchatz said the center had not plotted the walk’s course yet, but believed it would be a one or two mile course.
The event will feature kids’ games, trivia contests and other contests, prizes, and 60s, 70s, and 80s music performed by Hillsborough band, Stolen Heart.
Because of the center’s confidentiality agreements, Mr. Winchatz couldn’t confirm whether any former victims would participate in the walk; however, he said that several former victims returned for other events the center hosted.
Though this is the first fundraising walk, the center hosts additional fundraising events through out the year, including candlelight vigils, a golf outing, a black-tie gala, a holiday gift drive, and item drives. Corporate sponsorship from Verizon Wireless and a donation from the Hillsborough Rotary Club allows all event proceeds to go to the center’s programs rather than event costs.
”The most difficult part is stimulating support and interest,” said Mr. Winchatz. “It takes time for people to learn about the services and who we are.”
Located on Homestead Road, the Resource Center for Women and Their Families offers various services for Somerset County’s victims of domestic violence.
The center offers a safe house that allows victims to escape violent homes, a legal advocacy program that supports victims if they go to court, community education and domestic violence prevention programs, life skills training, and children’s programs to help children cover from domestic violence.